


Stepping Stones

by PsychedelicatePoltergeist



Series: Lessons In Strength, Friendship and Love [13]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Comedy, Feels, Implied Relationships, M/M, Mild Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 12:05:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15840954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychedelicatePoltergeist/pseuds/PsychedelicatePoltergeist
Summary: Nagito's excitement over Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi's romantic relationship is bizarre, unexpected and certainly annoying, that much Fuyuhiko knows. But maybe there's a reason why he sees so much hope within it...





	Stepping Stones

**Author's Note:**

> Eyyyy it feels like it’s been a long time since I wrote anything substantial, but here I am again! Hopefully this oneshot is good, because school’s been kicking my ass lately and I haven’t been quite as focused on my stories.

Fuyuhiko wasn’t sure what kinds of reactions he was expecting when he and Kazuichi opened up to their classmates about their relationship. It was a decision that they were both on the fence about for months, worried that they’d face some kind of backlash in return, such as word spreading around the school and their families potentially finding out. That was the last thing they wanted to deal with.

Among their classmates, their reactions were mostly positive. The majority of them were happy for them, but they admitted that they found it weird how two boys - especially Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi - were dating. Nonetheless, they promised to keep it under wraps. Hiyoko seemed to be the only one who was directly against it, saying that the two boys were “like those gross American people who shove their gayness in everyone’s faces”, but they’d expected this kind of reaction from her. Sonia was delighted to find out about their relationship status, surprisingly enough, and Kazuichi was especially relieved about that.

But Nagito’s reaction was by far the most surprising.

He stared at Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi in awe, his cheeks flushed pink and his eyes shining with mirth. Fuyuhiko half-expected him to start drooling.

“This is… such a hopeful relationship…!” he proclaimed breathily, trembling ever so slightly.

This odd, almost orgasmic reaction to anything Nagito deemed “hopeful” was something that Fuyuhiko had learned to get used to over the years as a student of Hope’s Peak Academy. It was weird and definitely awkward to witness, but at the end of the day, Nagito had a hope fetish - and that wasn’t even the strangest thing about Fuyuhiko’s class. But… why would his relationship with Kazuichi be hopeful, according to Nagito? He’d expected him to feel indifferent about it, maybe a little surprised like the others. Since when did he care about relationships, anyway?

“H-hey, man, you’re kinda creepin’ me out,” said Kazuichi. Despite the lack of tact he’d shown as he showed affection towards Sonia in the past, he was disturbed by the way Nagito had reacted to their news.

“This is the most hopeful relationship I have ever witnessed!” Nagito exclaimed. “I never thought I’d see the day where you and Fuyuhiko would become a couple, but this unexpected relationship turns out to be something truly special! I feel so lucky!”

Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi exchanged glances as the rest of their classmates stared at Nagito as though his arm had just fallen off. They couldn’t really complain about this, right?

◇◆◇

They hadn’t counted on Nagito being so annoying.

Well, the lucky student was always rather annoying, if Fuyuhiko had to be blunt. The way he’d go on and on about hope to anyone who cared to listen - that is, no one, except perhaps Chiaki - was irritating, and Fuyuhiko had always thought that it would be convenient if he could shut him up simply by pressing a button.

Now, however, Fuyuhiko wished he could go back to the days where endlessly rambling about hope was the worst crime Nagito had committed.

Since they’d come out, he’d taken to following them everywhere he could, whenever they were together, asking them personal questions such as “who confessed first?” and “what was your first kiss like?” in a hushed voice at every opportunity. He seemed to want to know the whole damn love story, and, no matter how many times they told him to go away, he never did. He was like a clingy yaoi fangirl who wanted to know every little detail about their relationship, presumably because it was “cute” or “hot.” Was Nagito getting off to this? Was he a yaoi fanboy? Would he have reacted the same way if any two male classmates came out as a couple?

The fact that the questions were slowly becoming more inquisitive as time went on was enough to convince Fuyuhiko that yes, he was very…  _ interested. _

“So,” Nagito murmured as he approached the lunch table Fuyuhiko and Kazuichi sat at, placing his bento box on the space in front of him and taking a seat. “Have you two had sex yet?”

Kazuichi almost spit out the cola he was gulping down, and Fuyuhiko clenched his fists as he ferociously stared Nagito down. “That is none of your fuckin’ business,” he growled.

Nagito sighed. “That’s been the answer to every question I’ve asked so far,” he said. “I’m simply curious about how this hopeful couple is doing!”

“Yeah, well, at least Sonia has the decency to give us space and mind her own business,” Kazuichi retorted.

“Which of you will be planting the seed of hope inside his partner?” Nagito went on, ignoring Kazuichi. “It’s going to be Fuyuhiko, isn’t it? I know he’d much rather be the one taking the reins…”

Fuyuhiko slammed a fist onto the table, making Kazuichi jump. His blood boiled and his face burned as he scowled at Nagito. “The next time you open your fuckin’ trap, I’ll slam your head against the wall so hard that you’ll be hospitalised!” he threatened, loudly enough to attract stares from students at the surrounding tables.

“D-dude, calm down,” said Kazuichi, glancing at him from across the table, visibly concerned.

“No, it’s quite alright,” Nagito assured him as his lips curled upwards into a smile. “I apologise for angering you, Fuyuhiko. I should’ve known that you and Kazuichi wouldn’t want worthless trash like me to sit with you.” Despite his pessimistic words, he didn’t seem to be truly bothered, even as he stood up and took his bento box with him. “Bye now.” And with that, he was gone.

Fuyuhiko watched him as he walked across the cafeteria to the table at the back where he always sat. He then turned towards Kazuichi, hardly even sparing his lunch a glance. “The fuckin’  _ nerve  _ of that guy,” he growled. “What the hell does he think he is, the fuckin’ paparazzi?”

Kazuichi shrugged as he lifted a cut of meat using his chopsticks and bit into it. “Never knew he could be so damn nosy,” he remarked as he chewed.

“Lemme know if he ever bothers you again, Kazu,” said Fuyuhiko. “I’ll beat the shit out of him if he does.”

◇◆◇

These afternoons were always so… boring. Well, they had been, anyway, until he’d found a hobby to entertain himself with.

It hadn’t taken him long to become an outright nuisance, though.

Nagito sighed quietly, in all his lonesome, as he finished the final sentence in his journal and placed the pen down. Even after all of this… it still didn’t feel like enough. He had so many feelings and experiences to go off of, now, simply from observing the hopeful couple and asking them questions he was sure weren’t harmful in any way, He closed his eyes, imagined what he wanted to see, thought about what he wanted to feel, but… he simply couldn’t shake off the feeling that it wasn’t real, and that it never would be.

Oh well, he figured. There wasn’t much he could do but continue to see him, hoping that their friendship - the only friendship he had with anyone - would never be broken.

◇◆◇

It was surprising how effective Fuyuhiko’s threat was. From then onwards, Nagito never approached him or Kazuichi again, and only spoke to them when it was necessary. Everything had returned to normal, and the young couple could enjoy each other’s company in peace once again.

What they hadn’t realised, though, was that the threat hadn’t entirely been eliminated. Neither of them knew Nagito well enough to know that he was genuinely upset, for one reason or another - and no one else in their class had noticed this, either, too preoccupied with themselves and their own issues.

That was why, to Fuyuhiko, Nagito appearing in front of his door about a week later had come right out of left field.

“Whaddaya want,” he grumbled as he stared him down, irritated that his studying had been interrupted.

Nagito smiled a little. “I hope you don’t mind someone like me paying you a visit this afternoon,” he said. “And, more importantly. I hope you don’t mind me asking one more question about you and your boyfriend. It’ll be the last one, I promise!”

Fuyuhiko really wasn’t in the mood for this. He had a test the very next day, and he needed to spend as much time studying for it as he could. He resisted the temptation to just slam the door in Nagito’s face, instead letting out a sigh. “Make it quick. And it better not be anythin’ weird or embarrassing.”

“How did you get the strength to confront your feelings?”

Fuyuhiko paused. That was unexpected. The words sliced through him and his mental barriers in a way that no other intimate question Nagito asked had. He stared into Nagito’s eyes in a desperate search for some kind of mirth, but the boy seemed to be completely serious. This felt vastly different to the other times Nagito had annoyed him with his game of 20 Questions.

Could it be…?

“Get inside,” Fuyuhiko commanded. The studying would have to wait.

Nagito’s eyes widened, surprised, but he didn’t hesitate to move into Fuyuhiko’s room and sit on his bed, while Fuyuhiko reclaimed his desk chair.

“So,” the yakuza began, “before I answer your question, I want you to answer one of mine. Why d’you wanna know this?”

Nagito shifted ever so slightly with a frown. “I feel like this knowledge would benefit me,” he replied.

“Okay, but how?”

“How…?”

“Yeah. How.” Fuyuhiko crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re askin’ me some real personal shit, so I’m gonna ask you ‘bout your personal feelings too.”

Nagito’s expression was unclear. He placed a finger to his chin, humming thoughtfully to himself. “I just really like the idea of you two together,” he said after awhile. “I mean it when I say that this relationship is one that is founded on hope! The fact that you and Kazuichi were hopeful enough to confront your feelings, despite your differences, is something that I truly admire, and I want to learn more about it!”

“...that’s all?”

Nagito nodded. “That’s all.”

Fuyuhiko had a slight but distinct feeling that there was more to it than that, that Nagito hadn’t told him everything, but he shoved the thought aside. He said he wanted to make this quick, and he was going to keep to his word - he didn’t want to spend too much time with Nagito if he could help it.

“When you know you really love someone… more than you’re s’posed to… and the feelings really overwhelm you… it’s real hard to just gulp ‘em down and put ‘em to the side,” he said, speaking slowly and choosing his words carefully. “If you just ignore ‘em for awhile, they’re only gonna get stronger and louder, and it’ll be even harder to deal with ‘em. At some point, you gotta accept them, and you gotta accept that somethin’ about yourself has changed. And for me, that was… really fuckin’ difficult.” He took a deep breath, studying Nagito’s reaction; the lucky student was listening intently, not looking away from Fuyuhiko. Was this really a good idea? He’d only told Kazuichi and Peko about this stuff - people he was close to, people he’d already established a powerful bond with. Why was he entertaining Nagito with this? Why now?

“I think… somewhere, deep inside me, I’d always known that I was into guys, but I didn’t wanna admit it or think about it too much. It only came to a head when… y’know. And as I said, once those feelings surfaced, they got to a point where I just… couldn’t ignore ‘em. I had to do somethin’ about ‘em if I didn’t wanna continue bein’ miserable. So I just… swallowed my pride and told Kazuichi ‘bout it, and… it went better than I expected.”

“I see,” Nagito nodded. “So you were happier once you told him? Nothing went wrong?”

“Well, we did have our concerns ‘bout my family and shit,” Fuyuhiko replied. “We spent a little while talkin’ that out and stuff. That’s why we agreed to break up once graduation comes. I still wanna be the heir of the Kuzuryuu Clan, y’know.”

“Of course, of course,” said Nagito. “But the fact that you were courageous enough to act upon your feelings is truly admirable, Fuyuhiko.” He sighed wistfully, but said nothing more.

Fuyuhiko blushed slightly at the compliment, but turned away, hoping that Nagito hadn’t noticed. “Sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do.”

Nagito nodded in agreement. “Thank you, Fuyuhiko,” he said with a small smile. “You and Kazuichi are truly the stepping stones of hope, and I wish you both the best.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Fuyuhiko sighed. “I dunno why you’re so interested in us, but you’d better not ask us any more stupid questions.”

The smile never left Nagito’s face despite that.

◇◆◇

Fuyuhiko’s dorm had one of the best views. His desk was placed right beside the window, which overlooked the school courtyard down below. He normally closed the curtains so that the sight of students walking across the area wouldn’t distract him, but today was different - he studied with the curtains wide open.

At some point, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Nagito approaching the fountain, where a plain-looking Reserve Course boy stood in front of. He’d seen this boy talking with Chiaki on at least one occasion, and he recognised him as one of Natsumi’s classmates, but he otherwise had no idea who he was. So he was surprised when he saw Nagito pleasantly chatting with the boy and seemingly enjoying his company. If this talentless boy was somehow able to befriend Nagito… there must’ve been something truly remarkable about him. Fuyuhiko made a mental note to ask Natsumi about him the next time he saw her.

For some reason, Fuyuhiko smiled as he turned back to his textbook. He had a feeling that, in some way, he’d really helped Nagito out, whether he’d intended to or not. He still found him annoying, sure, but… maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe he should go out of his way to help him more often…

But first, he figured, he had to talk Kazuichi into giving the guy a break.


End file.
